[meteorite-list] Warning to armchair fireball chasers

From: MeteorHntr at aol.com <MeteorHntr_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:59:26 EDT
Message-ID: <d2a.5068e2d3.378ba8ae_at_aol.com>

Hello List,

I have just had some great off list correspondence with Dave Ghessling
over at FallingRocks.com.

He, like a gentleman, expressed off list with me a concern that I had
mistakenly lumped the Georgia Fireball of this year in with the group of events
that has revealed some of the so called "armchair fireball chasers."

I want to state on the record that I was mistaken. That it seems I was
wrong, and that the only offers made in Georgia were by people on the ground
in Georgia and not via others long distance. And in no way did I intend to
implicate him personally in any wrong doing.

In fact, I want to go so far as to say that I personally don't think there
is anything wrong with people going public with making purchase offers.
Of course I don't think one should claim to offer, for example, $10,000 for
the first one pound rock, unless they are indeed willing and able to follow
through with such an offer.

I know different people have different opinions on this topic. I agree
that those types of public offers can create problems in the field, but not
making those public offers can also create problems (namely, fewer local
people out looking).

I personally don't currently make those kind of offers, but I don't stand
in judgement against people who do.

My whole intent of that post was to just let people know, when they do
talk to people, such as the person who talked to Mike Hankey, long distance
and over the phone, and asked him not to share his information with anyone
else... those kinds of things can get repeated, and in the case of the
Baltimore Sun, they can make the front page news.

That's all. My post wasn't in opposition to or in support of chasing
meteorites from home.

I hope this clears this up. My apologies to Dave and to anyone else that
might have taken my comment of the Georgia event incorrectly.

I also want to thank Dave for being a stand up guy and talking to me
directly about this and not going behind my back and bad mouthing me to others.
And I want to thank Dave for taking this to me personally first instead of
taking the opportunity to post publicly something that was so easily taken
care of privately.

I appreciate gentlemen like him in this business who act as such.

Steve Arnold
of "Meteorite Men"
(ha, what are you looking for this time Mike?)

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Received on Sun 12 Jul 2009 04:59:26 PM PDT